Cloud Atlas (2012)

Take six fantastically written short films, lace them all into each other intricately and fit it all into 3 hours and you have the biggest "look what I can do!" movie of all time.

Cloud Atlas follows six individual stories, spanning six time periods (past, present and future) with six different protagonists whose stories influence the next persons in the minuscule yet important ways.

The intricacies of which all the stories of Cloud Atlas are interwoven are near unfathomable, "blink and you'll miss them" moments that effect the characters, the story, the setting, the audience, sometimes multiple or even all of these elements are affected. Some write books for the future protagonists, some have their lives turned into biographical films and one even ascends to become the religious figure from which future generations draw all hope. We have films in modern times that appeal to those with the attention span of a fruit-fly, to those incapable of understanding that more than one character can have a story and so the industry caters to it, leaving everyone but the protagonist under-developed, amassing an army of side characters that are just shadows against a wall. Cloud Atlas takes the audience by the collar and states "witness the beauty of time, of humanity, feel these stories resonate in your soul and don't leave a single one of them forgotten or else you don't deserve to know the rest".

Cloud Atlas is also the perfect canvas and opportunity for the cast as each of the main ensemble inhabit multiple roles, each with their own particular patterns and behaviour. From Sci-fi to period drama, comedy to thriller, an immense range of potential is presented to them and each of them fits their turn as the protagonist perfectly. Tom Hanks speaks the broken yet evolved language of the Valleymen with such ease and familiarity that it could be his first language, Ben Wishaw portrays a love and passion for his partner and the medium of music that is seldom seen in any modern dramas, Jim Broadbent brings classic comedy up to the level of the Sci-fi epics as it competes hilariously for the audience's admiration, Hugo Weaving brings his masterful presence to multiple villains of the film, once again proving his expertise in the categories of intimidation and fear. These and so many more members of the cast prove their true range and the ability to have a single actor tell a dozen stories. 

With a film like Cloud Atlas having to juggle so many scenarios at once, there easily could've been short-comings or sacrifices during production but the environments, the props, the costumes the make-up, all of these elements were incredibly done to a level where you would think the six stories were six full budget films, all competing against each other for the Oscars, thus pushing their creative efforts above and beyond what they could've been left at. The make-up especially, changing men to women, white to asian, young to old, hair and beards of all sizes and colours, whilst maybe controversial amongst some audiences, it is purely a showcase of the abilities of these great artists.

Cloud Atlas is a behemoth of a film to try and analyse in completion but I'll leave it at this; in order to learn about working with the medium of film and the method of telling a story, watch this film, follow every story, notice every character, for within this film lies the examples for all others.

4.5/5 - The energy of the universe contained in a single speck. 

 

Only The Brave (2017)

Truly a tale of brothers, fathers, husbands, firefighters but above all, heroes.

Only The Brave follows the rise and fall of the original "Granite Mountain Hotshots"; a forest fire-fighting crew who heroically saved the county of Yarnell, Arizona in 2013 but in turn, lost their lives in the blaze. All apart from young recruit, Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller), who survived to tell the tale of some of the bravest men in America.

One of the key story elements that really connects the audience to the Granite Mountain Hotshots is the camaraderie between them, the deep friendship that is performed so fantastically and is so easily believed from start to finish, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if the cast spent some extra months prior to filming just to become friends. I really think this film did the memory of those men a lot of justice in showing how the ties of friendship can transcend anything and sometimes save someone as much as fighting the fire around them. A perfect example is the story of Brendan McDonough, who drug-fuelled adolescence was turned around when Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) and the hotshots took a chance on him.

Josh Brolin provides an incredible lead for this film as the veteran firefighter, Eric Marsh, whose experience and knowledge honed his crew into a legendary team. He portrays this leader brilliantly whilst also displaying the troubles Marsh was facing at the time with respect and a true feeling of pain as he suffered through a troubled marriage, a fierce anger problem and the constant stress of the job he sacrificed everything for.

Another notable factor is the cinematography and camera work. The sweeping landscape shots over the vast green valleys give such a feeling of complete freedom, this then completely reversed in similar shots of engulfing flame and blackened hills, they really make you feel the devastation of the forests, like surveying a huge scar across the land. This switch is actually addressed within the film as Eric Marsh speaks to his crew and all the new members, stating that they should appreciate the landscape while they can because as soon as you're in the hotshot life "There's only one thing you're gonna be able to see and that's fuel". The wider shots aren't the only impressive ones though, the close-ups of the crew, perfectly crafted and framed, display a wealth of emotions throughout the film; painful moments, moments of joy, moments of unending fear. All of these feelings pushed against you so deeply that you feel as if you're on their shoulder, feeling it right there with them.

Something commendable that has gone unseen is the brilliant way Only The Braves weaves exposition into it's story. Not only is it subtle, completely validated and intricately placed, all the information the audience is given about how forest fire fighting works is necessary but sometimes not fully explained and that isn't a bad thing. The best example of this is the repeated mention of "working structure", the details of which are never explained but's implied that "working structure" is a different form of fire fighting that is much safer and less demanding than being a hotshot, so now we know that whenever it is mentioned, it completely natural for the characters to treat it as taboo or as a betrayal, mainly as that's where the Granite Mountain Hotshots kept losing members of their crew before being certified. This method of expositional writing is superb as it keeps all unnecessary information out and keeps obvious informing of the audience to a minimum, resulting in them learning as much as they need to about the job of a hotshot without feeling like they're being treated like an idiot.

In Summary, Only The Brave is a film that, above all, represents respect; for the job, for your friends, for the audience and for the memories of the Granite Mountain Hotshots.

5/5 - Fighting fire with fire.